, 1887-12-16
CRYING FOR BREAD.
Terrible Loss of Life By Floods
in China.
Millions of Natives Homeless
and Starving.
1000 Square Miles Of Land
Inundated.
A Terrible State of Suffering

SAN FRANCISCO. Dec. 15.-The steam.
ship City ofSydney arrived this afternoon
from Hong Kong and Yokohama. Chi
nese papers give details of n disaster oc-
casioned by the Yellow river overlooking
its banks in the province of Honan, and
describe it as one of the most appalling
occurrences in the loss of life and prop.
erty recorded in recent times. The river
broke its banks on the evening of Sept.
IS, southwest of the city of Ching Chow,
and not only completely inundated that
city, but also ten other populous CITIES.
The whole area is now a raging sea, ten
to thirty feet deep, where it was densely
populated and q rich plain. The former
bed of the Yellow river is now dry, and
the present lake was the ed of the river
centuries ago. The loss Of life IS incalcu
liable, and the statement is made by mis-.
sionaries that millions of Chinese are
homeless and starving.
Thomas Patton, one of the American
missionaries writing from Honan province,
under date of Oct. IS, says: "The newly
gathered crops, houses and trees are all
swept away, involving a fearful loss of
life. The country was covered with fine
winter braid, which is gone and implies a
complete destruction of next years crop.
Bread, bread is the cry of thousands
who are on the river bank. Benevolent
people go in boats and throw bread among
the mass here and there, but it is nothing
compared with the requirements. The
mass OF people is still being increased by
continual arrivals ever more hungry than
the last. There they sit, stunned, hun
CRY and detected, without a rag to wear or
a morscl OF food. Mat huts are being
erected for them to the west Of this, but
what it will be in two months | cannot
conceive. The misery is increased owing
to the bitter cold weather."
The Yellow river has long been known
as a Chinese sorrow, and the present dis
aster has served to reasseTt its right to the
terrible title. As yet the details of the
disaster are very meagre. 1t has occurred
in a district where but few foreigners are,
and reports furnished by the officials, and
published in the Pekin1 Gazette, convey
a very inadequate idea of the extent of
the loss of life and property and suffer
ings Of the survivors. The governor of
Honan reports to the throne that Near
ly all the people have been drowned in
the district reached by the water, the sur
vlvors being those who escaped to high
ground or took refuge in trees where they
remained until they we're rescued"
This gives but little impression as to
what the extent of the disaster really is.
The Chinese Times states that in the pro-
vince Of Chihili where disastrous inunda-
ton have also occurred, there are go, 900
people homeless, representing those
whose lives were destroyed, and adds that
the misery in that province is tritiing com
pared with that caused by the Huango
Ho, or Yellow river. The extent of the
ground swept over by the overwhelming
food given in English figures is over seven
thousand square miles, and the land thus
submerged formed part of one of the
richest and most densely populated
plains OF Northern China. The
necessity for liberal aid may therefore be
imagined.
Already considerable sums have been
contributed towards the relief of the
sufferers. The emperor of China has
given 1000, 600 taels, and the Chinese
have started a subscription list in
Shanghai, to which foreigners have libcr
ally contributed. Millions have been
rendered homeless and entirely deprived
of all chances of earning their livelihood,
for their fields will either become a per-
mancnt lake or an un~inhabitable swamp.
1t is feared that the distress which will
be felt during the coming winter will
equal in intensity the famine often years
ago., when the charitable donations con,
tributed from all parts of tie world were
utterly inadequate.
1t is stated that owing to the action
taken by the Yellow river 1t no longer
flows toward the sea, but seems content
in converting Eastern llonan and North
ern Nganwhui into a lake. 1t may ulti-
matcly flow into the sea through Kan,
gOn, or it may even possibly join the
Gangtzc.